“Yes.”
Carefully, she disconnected, set the phone on the rug next to her, and stood. Head down, she moved past Marcus, past Eric—then took off at a run, headed for the back door.
Marcus went after her. Eric followed on his heels, joined the intimidation when he caught up with them just outside the back door. Marcus had her trapped against the wall, and she vibrated with rage.
“—me go now, or she will hurt Annie.”
“Not alone.” Marcus leaned in. “All of us or not at all.”
Eric waited for her to punch Marcus. Instead she took in a deep breath and nodded.
“Fine,” she said. “Now get the hell out of my way. We are wasting time.”
Marcus dragged her to his car, a sleek, black four door Jaguar. “I drive, you give directions.” He smiled when she glared at him, then glanced over his shoulder at Eric. “Coming?
Eric answered by sprinting to the Jag.
FOURTEEN
Annie closed her eyes, gave up trying to free herself from the ropes that bound her wrists behind her. Her skin was already raw and angry from the struggle, and she could feel blood trickle down her hands.
Natasha stashed her somewhere big and empty, and it smelled like it had been empty for a long time. No chance of anyone stumbling across her.
Annie shifted, chilled by the cold slab of concrete she had been dumped on. She was attached to a steel pillar, which meant she was stuck. Sunlight filtered in from the dirt-streaked window on her left side, splashing over her legs. Its meager warmth did nothing to take the edge off. The bitter cold woke her earlier, seeping through her jeans, just in time to hear Natasha’s phone call to Claire.
Anytime—they’ll be here anytime now.
She used the words as a mantra, repeating them in her head, listening, waiting for any sound that meant rescue. The focus helped keep her mind off the cold, and the raw pain in her ear.
She still didn’t believe Natasha had cut her earlobe off. If it didn’t throb like a bad tooth, she’d chalk it up as a side effect of the concussion she was sure she had.
And Eric—he’d be halfway home by now, ignorant of her abduction. Part of her was glad; he wouldn’t be involved, which meant he wouldn’t be in danger again. Natasha screwed up his life enough already. Now the woman was after Claire, and it burned Annie that she was the dangling bait.
“Stupid—how could you be so stupid—” No—beating herself up out loud didn’t help.
She would just find a way to help when the time came. Claire would not suffer for her mistake.
With renewed determination, she started working on the ropes again, ignoring the fresh burst of pain. If she could just—
“Hello, Annie.” The silky voice froze her. Natasha knelt beside her, reached down and brushed sweat matted curls off her forehead. It took every ounce of control not to recoil. Annie had a feeling the response to that would be painful. “I trust your nap was refreshing. Not that it matters, but I do enjoy playing polite.” The smile sent chills racing down her spine. “We are going on a little field trip. How does that sound?”
“Boring,” Annie said before she could stop herself. Anger snapped in Natasha’s dark green eyes. Swallowing, Annie kept going, hoping the anger would work in her favor. In for a penny— “I always hated field trips—nothing worse than riding on a stinky bus with a bunch of—”
Natasha backhanded her. Annie’s head bounced off the pillar. Moaning, she tried to decide which hurt more—her cheek or her head. Then Natasha yanked her forward and her entire body won as every muscle tried to cramp at the same time.
Annie let out a harsh gasp, and Natasha slapped her again.
“Make another sound, and you will lose talking privileges. For good. Do you understand?”
Annie nodded, her heart pounding so hard she could feel it in her throat. For a second—one long, endless second—she saw a hideous face flash across Natasha’s. A face that wasn’t human.
*
Marcus screamed into the deserted parking lot, and Claire had the door open before he finished stopping.
She ran to the warehouse—another warehouse—and reached for the door handle. Marcus caught her hand just before she touched it.
“This is a trap—”
“You think I don’t know that? I’ve had to deal with the backlash of her nasty little games for years. I know her M.O.—and I will not let it stop me from getting to Annie—”
“Think, woman.” Marcus gripped both shoulders. If he shook her she swore she would smack him. “Let us find out exactly where she is before we go running to her rescue. Or we may be the cause of injury.”